Hot water heaters are known in the art and exist in various forms. Generally, a water heater consists of a water tank and a mechanism for heating the water within the tank. Various problems are associated with such standard water heaters. One such problem is that the water must always be available to the user. Thus, the water must remain constantly heated even when not in use. This is grossly inefficient as a considerable amount of energy must be consumed to constantly heat the water. Another problem is a large amount of water must remain in the tank at all times. However, when water sits for an extended period of time, deposits from the water begin to settle at the bottom of the tank. Over time the deposits can cause the tank to structurally fail thereby causing unwanted water leakage. Another problem with conventional water heaters deals with sizing concerns. Standard water heaters are sized in accordance with the amount of hot water that will be consumed on a daily basis. However, if at some point the amount of water to be consumed increases, the owner of the water heater has two unpleasant choices. On the one hand he may purchase a larger water heater so as to meet the increased demand. Alternatively, the owner/user can opt to go without hot water for a period of time while the smaller hot water heater reheats the new water that replaced the depleted water. Further, if the amount of water consumed in a household decreases, then the larger water heater remains a cost burden for the user in that the excess water in the tank must still be constantly heated.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to design and manufacture a hot water heater that is efficient, alleviates the concerns for failure, and is easily modifiable for increased or decreased water consumption. It would further be desired to design and develop such an improved hot water heater that can be easily retrofit into existing plumbing equipment and layouts. It would further be desired to develop a hot water heater that is robust and has a good service life. Finally, it would also be desired to develop a hot water heater that is generally inexpensive to build. The present invention addresses one or more of these needs.